Spring-Heeled Jack
by DownToTheSea
Summary: Helen Magnus met Spring-heeled Jack twice in her life - the second time was when she chased Adam back in time to Victorian England, but the first was a hundred and fifty years before.


**A/N: A friend on Tumblr got me addicted to Primeval, so this happened. I know the timeline doesn't quite work out, but... I couldn't resist! XD Mostly written during a hectic work week, so I apologize for any mistakes. Some background Teslen, and a tiny Connor cameo.**

* * *

 **1868**

Pulling her hood back a little from her face, Emily peered around the corner of the building she was pressed up against. The road beyond was nearly empty, and the few shadowed figures that did populate it hurried about their business with heads bowed, concerned with their own affairs and no one else's.

She was certain Henry would have said that no reputable person would have been out at such an hour. Luckily, Emily had found that she did not care much for being reputable.

Leaning out from the alley again, she considered her options. As deserted as the street before her was, taking a main street was still a risk compared to dodging through back alleyways. The night was dark and foggy, but there were a few gas lamps struggling against the gloom, and as soon as someone caught sight of "Spring-heeled Jack," a chase would ensue and the most of the time she could afford for her nightly activities would be spent in losing her pursuit. At the very least – the worst-case scenario was that she would be caught, but Emily preferred not to think about that outcome.

But time was short, and if she hoped to examine the scene of the last creature attack in depth, she needed to arrive as quickly as possible.

The decision was made in another moment, and Emily stepped out smoothly from the alley, drawing her cloak about her.

She hurried along the cobblestone streets, mimicking the downcast carriage of her fellow night travelers and praying no one would take notice of her.

Her destination was only a few minutes away when she raised her head for a moment, halting immediately when she spied a faint light coming from within a shop window, only a few paces away. Emily had stopped just in time, frozen like a statue on the hazy line between the shop light and the claustrophobic darkness she had come from. Across from her, standing on the same line, was an indistinct silhouette staring intently into the night.

Staring _away_ from Emily, she realized. She took a tentative step back, a curse and a silent prayer of thanks springing equally well to mind. A few more steps and she was safely re-enclosed in shadows, and she slid into another nearby alley and leaned against the wall, exhaling heavily.

"Is someone there?"

Emily froze again, her heart pounding. But the voice was high and curious rather than threatening; surely, at this time of night it couldn't be –

A little girl appeared in front of Emily and she jerked away with an involuntary cry.

"I'm sorry," the girl said. "I didn't mean to frighten you."

Taking a deep breath in and shaking her hood off, Emily recovered and gave the little girl a faint smile. "No need to apologize," she said. "You merely startled me. What are you doing out here at this hour?"

She gestured back at the shop. "Helping my father," she said. "He needed medicine for his patients."

"His patients?" Emily repeated. "Is he a doctor?" Looking around the corner, she realized that the shop with the lighted window was an apothecary's.

The girl nodded proudly. "When I get older, I'm going to become a doctor as well," she said. There was a slight undertone of challenge in her voice, like she was daring Emily to disagree with her. Likely, it was a reaction she was familiar with.

With a touch of amusement, Emily wondered if this was how she greeted everyone. Still, she couldn't help but think of the future she had seen, and whether or not this girl would ever see it too.

"Of course you shall," she said, smiling. "What's your name?"

"Helen," the girl said. "Helen Magnus."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Helen," Emily said, then hesitated. As unlikely as it might be that anyone would ever believe the story of a child, Emily couldn't afford her name being spread around.

"Are you Spring-heeled Jack?" Helen asked, displaying only earnest curiosity at the possibility she might be talking to a cold-blooded murderer.

"No," Emily said. "But I am hunting him. I'm trying to find him before anyone else is hurt."

Helen's eyes widened. "You?"

"Yes, me."

The girl's face lit up. "What are those for?" she asked, nodding towards Emily's knives.

"Those are for when I find him," Emily said.

Helen paused for a moment in contemplation, absorbing that information. "Would a firearm not be more effective?" she asked.

Emily found herself smiling again: a welcome sensation, and not one she had grown accustomed to in recent months. "It would be," she said. "But it would also be louder, and I must avoid detection."

And it was no easy task for her to procure guns even if she had wanted them, certainly none of the quality she had seen in the future. There were things she would admit to missing from there, now that she was back home. And things she wouldn't admit to missing as well.

"If I mistook you for Jack, others may as well," Helen said, thoughtful.

"Precisely," said Emily. Behind her, around the corner, the low voices coming from the shop grew louder.

Helen started. "I must go," she said. "My father thinks I'm inside the shop."

"You snuck out," Emily guessed.

She gave a short and only slightly ashamed nod. "It was an honor to meet you," she said in a rush. "I hope you find Spring-heeled Jack."

"Likewise," Emily said, inclining her head. "And thank you."

Helen hurried out of the alley and back into the shop. Edging around the corner, Emily watched until she was safely inside, then melted back into the darkness.

* * *

 **Present Day**

"I'm just saying, Helen, while we're in England, we might as well revisit our old stomping grounds," Nikola said. "Reminisce about old times… Make some new memories…" He grinned.

Helen rolled her eyes. "Perhaps we should concern ourselves with the dangerous abnormal stalking and killing people before we worry about memories, old or new," she said, raising an eyebrow at Nikola.

"Spoilsport," Nikola said, still grinning. "Sure, I was hoping for a few more scenic locations while we were here, but a filthy warehouse with you is better than a sun-drenched beach without, my dear."

"Filthy?" Helen said. "On the contrary, this particular warehouse is much cleaner than our usual fare."

"And better lighted," Nikola muttered.

Helen's lips twitched. "Now, if you wouldn't mind focusing," she said. "Henry said he picked up a strange reading from just ahead of us – can you detect anything?"

Nikola narrowed his eyes in concentration. "There is something up ahead," he said after a moment. "With a magnetic field. It's that way." He swept his arm before him, where a rickety door waited at the edge of the warehouse. An office of some sort, no doubt.

"Follow me," Helen said, angling towards it and readying her stunner.

"Always."

They were approaching the door when it slammed open with a force that nearly bounced it off the wall. Snarling, a creature appeared on the threshold and leapt at them. All Helen had time to do was throw herself against Nikola, taking them both to the ground just in time to avoid the creature. Helen could hear its claws whistling past her head as they fell, then it barreled out the way they had come.

She and Nikola hit the floor with a thud, groaning. Helen rolled off him, trying to get her breath back.

"Are you alright?" he asked, turning towards her.

Helen nodded. "You?"

He shrugged. "Vampire. Helen, was that – "

"Don't say it, Nikola."

" – a dinosaur?"

"Bloody hell." She sighed.

Nikola's eyes were sparkling. "That was totally a dinosaur."

"You're getting as bad as Henry."

"Come on, Helen," he said. "You saw it too."

Helen retrieved her stunner from the ground as she stood, offering her other hand to Nikola. "What I saw was an unfamiliar abnormal _resembling_ a dinosaur."

"Ok, fine," Nikola said. "But Helen, if it were a dinosaur... That would be _cool_."

Helen smiled. "Yes," she said. "Incredibly so. Want to find out?"

"I thought you'd never ask."

* * *

They tracked the creature out of the warehouse and into the adjacent building, some kind of abandoned office. Creeping through the second floor hall, Helen paused as a nearby sound caught her ear.

Nikola had already stopped, his vampiric senses giving him forewarning.

"Helen," he whispered, jerking his head towards a door just ahead of them and to their right.

Helen spun to cover the door with her stunner just as it burst open and the creature appeared. Beside her, Nikola gave a low hiss, but Helen had already fired. The creature dropped as her stunner blast hit it.

Another flash of light struck it as it fell and Helen kept her gun up, wary of the source. Over the creature's unconscious form, she saw another woman standing in the hall behind it, a gun similar to Helen's raised in her hands. She looked strangely familiar, but Helen couldn't quite place her.

"Who are you?" they asked in unison.

"Are you from the ARC?" the other woman added with a furrowed brow, then turned to the side, speaking into an earpiece. "Jess, is there another team here?"

"The ARC?" Helen exchanged confused glances with Nikola. He shrugged. "We're with the Sanctuary."

"You hunt creatures like this?" she asked, looking skeptical.

"Well, not exactly like this," Helen said. "And I wouldn't call it hunting. What does the ARC do?"

Before the woman could answer, a new face arrived on the scene – a dark-haired young man carrying a similar gun.

"Anomaly's locked, Abby and Becker are clearing the… Who are they?" he blurted, his head swiveling between Helen, Nikola, and the other woman, before addressing himself to Helen. "Sorry, who are you?"

"My name is Helen Magnus," she said. "This is – ah, Nikola."

"Nikola Tesla," he said, grinning with his usual careless disregard for his name being recognized.

"Like the scientist?" the young man asked, his eyes going wide.

"Ooh, a fan?" Nikola said with glee. Helen elbowed him in the ribs.

"What's your name?" she asked. "And what is the ARC?"

"Connor Temple," he said. "And this is Emily. And the ARC is, well…"

"Helen Magnus?" Emily interrupted.

She nodded. "Have we met?"

"I believe we have," she said, giving Helen an odd look. "Did you come through an anomaly?"

"An anomaly?" Helen raised her eyebrows. She did look familiar… Helen racked her brains, trying to remember.

"A doorway," Emily said. "A gateway, to another time."

Nikola drew in his breath. "The magnetic field, Helen," he whispered.

 _Another time_. Suddenly, Helen remembered where she had met Emily before – long ago, the memory blurred with time but still impressed on her, of the woman defending London by night.

"Spring-heeled Jack?" she asked.

A smile broke onto Emily's face. "I see you found your firearms," she said, nodding towards Helen's stunner.

"And you traded in your knives." Helen said, chuckling a little despite her disbelief. She had thought everyone from her old home was long dead.

"Not entirely." A dagger appeared in her hand and she twirled it. "Did you come straight here, or did you visit other times on your way?"

"Ah… It's a long story," Helen hedged.

"I'd like to hear it," Emily said, smiling. "It's been a long time since I was able to talk to anyone from home."

"And I would very much like to hear more about these anomalies," Helen said.

Nikola and Connor had been staring at each other in confused camaraderie despite having known each other ten seconds, but this brought Nikola back to earth. "Definitely," he put in.

"There may be more of these creatures out there," Emily said. "We could use some help dispatching them first."

Helen smiled. "Lead the way."


End file.
